


city expectations

by jamming_out



Category: RuPaul's Drag Race (US) RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Band fic, F/F, Strangers to Friends to Lovers, Useless Lesbians, and they were band mates, ginger rosé rights, i love them, it’s mature for language, rosé plays bass, ‘nali plays drums
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-03
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-14 12:14:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29170950
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jamming_out/pseuds/jamming_out
Summary: Denali expected her move to NYC to be her fresh start. What she was not expecting was to be completely and utterly distracted by a certain ginger bass player.Rosé had been in the city for most of her life and had never expected to meet someone that infatuated her as much as the blonde drummer she had brought on.Or, they were band mates, and the rest was history.
Relationships: Denali/Rosé (Drag Race)
Comments: 22
Kudos: 74





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hey everyone !!!
> 
> i hope you guys enjoy the lesbianism to come !!
> 
> p.s. don’t forget that these characters are not real ;)

Were elevators always this crowded?

This was one of Denali’s first thoughts in her new apartment complex in the big apple- New York City. Of course, coming from Chicago, she was no stranger to a city stuffed full with population, but this was way different. There weren’t enough ‘sorry’s and ‘excuse me’s in the world to get her to the front of the tiny elevator without disgruntling at least two people. She supposed that that was just how it was here, and she needed to get used to it. Her suitcase clicked as the wheels popped over the gap between her floor and the elevator, and then she was alone as the doors closed, city silence filling her ears. 

Denali Foxx, only 22 years old and having gotten off a plane only a few hours prior, was already slightly stressed. Her stuff had almost been shipped to the wrong apartment, she didn’t know anyone to help her move in, and she barely had enough money for two months’ rent. Honestly, not a great start, but she wasn’t going to admit that to herself. That wasn’t the way to go at all, and she knew it. 

“You’re gonna be fine, ‘Nali.” She said out loud to herself as she turned the key in the lock and swung open the door. The first thing she was greeted with was about fifteen to twenty large boxes crowding up the small space, a bed frame and mattress stood up against the wall, and her small dresser that somehow managed not to be destroyed completely in the move. She rolled her suitcase inside, shrugging off a duffel bag from her shoulder and setting it on the floor. It wasn’t the most home-y place she’d ever seen, but with a little Denali sparkle, she was certain she could make it work. She shut the door behind her and locked it, turning slowly on her heel as she tugged her bleach blonde hair up into a bun. Taking only a second to put on some Britney Spears, she got to work almost immediately. 

It took about six hours. All by herself, she unpacked everything, having had enough sense to label the boxes before she left. She started with her small kitchen, putting away silverware and plates and utensils before moving on to the bedroom, dragging and building her bed all by herself. The diagram from IKEA was hardly helpful, but she did manage to figure it out. She unpacked her clothes, got her bathroom clean, and put sheets on her bed. She took boxes up and down the stairs and set up her buzzing system at the front desk. She ordered some take out for herself, and by the time she was done, eating and all, it had taken her six hours. But she got it finished, with only the occasional dawdling to stop and dance to whatever song was playing. 

As she crawled into bed for the night, thoroughly and rightfully exhausted, she fell asleep thinking about how she needed to start her job search the following day. 

Denali was what you call a multi-faceted talent. She was a damn good ice skater, though she stopped competing after deciding her dream of the Olympics wasn’t actually what she wanted. She could dance really well, but there weren’t any projects she’d heard of that she could tag along to. Her last talent, one most didn’t know about, was that she played drums. She made most of her money by writing lyrics and drum scores for different musicians, but drumming was her favorite part of it. She could take any demo track and within a few hours have a completely unique drum line added. 

The trouble with that was that it was a tad unstable back in Chicago. New York City was supposed to be her new beginning, and maybe drumming was the way to do it. 

—

The following morning, or rather afternoon, Denali rolled over in her bed to the sound of cars whirring by and a busy street. She checked her phone to see it was about five in the afternoon, heading on six. She definitely wasn’t used to the time zone change yet. 

Moving to unplug her phone, she stared up at the ceiling, thinking about what kind of steady job she could find before she sat straight up in bed, dread filling her stomach. 

She had been so focused on getting everything settled that she completely forgot about her drum set. Or, the lack thereof. She leaped out of bed, in her pajamas, sliding on shoes and booking it down to the lobby as fast as she could. The attendant stared at her as she explained her situation, the woman having to explain that there was no drum set and there never had been. Either the movers delivered it to the wrong place, stole it, or it never left Chicago. 

Denali was holding back tears on her way back up to her unit, shooting off a text to her mom to ask if her drum set was at home still. She got a response within the minute that it wasn’t. Dramatically collapsing onto her bed, she cursed herself for being so stupid. Getting a new one was going to be expensive, and there was no way she could afford it any time soon because she had rent to pay and an apartment to furnish. Her living room was just that, a room, and that was definitely not up to Denali standards. But without a drum set, she really had no way to make any money to do that. Denali groaned, dragging her hand down her face. There went a whole month’s rent. 

For her own mental health, she decided to forgo the drum dilemma until she felt more apt, going on her insta to switch her location and hopefully find some place where she could go have a little bit of fun before she let herself stress out. After showering and dusting on some makeup, she chose to sport some white mom jeans and a baby pink sweater vest crop top, pulling part of her hair up into two baby spice-esque pony tails with a few butterfly clips scattered amongst them. She also added a silver chain and lock necklace and a silver butterfly ring with a couple of other simple rings across her fingers for that perfect touch. To say she wouldn’t normally dress up this nice was definitely a lie, but she did make a tiny bit more of an effort for what she was considering her NYC debut. Also to keep her from having a small breakdown. Though it was a little bit early, she tugged on some white docs and headed out on the town. 

About an hour later, around 8 o’clock, Denali stood outside of a club- well if you could call it that. It looked more like a bar, and though the dark wood furnishings and lack of neon lighting didn’t particularly scream ‘lesbians come here’,  _ Bloo’s _ was actually one of the gay hubs of the city. 

At least, that’s what she’d seen on social media. 

While grabbing herself a snack in a café before she got there, she had sat and scrolled through her instagram trying to find a good place to settle for the night, and this place seemed to be extremely popular and also had live music. 

It was definitely way too early to start her night drinking, but the club definitely seemed to be open, so she delicately wrapped her fingers around one of the doors and opened it, peeking in. It appeared to be completely empty, so she fully stepped in, the door shutting behind her quietly. 

From the outside, it didn’t look like much, but the inside was actually quite large. The first thing she took in was the decor. There were bars on either side of the room with stools for people to sit, some tables and chairs littered around the floor as well as a designated dance floor that sat right in front of a stage. Every single detail was either matching or coordinated with a pop of blue, and Denali was kind of in awe as she took a closer look. Despite the large space, everything still felt cozy and home-y, something she was glad she could find in this huge city she was so unfamiliar with. The things that were wooden like the bar and the stools and the stage were all a dark walnut color, while things like the dance floor and doors to bathrooms were the same wood color, but with a blue stain. The overhead lights were golden andwashed over everything with just enough light to avoid tripping but still keep the vibe of a club to its core. It was gorgeous, and Denali could only imagine how the place looked with natural sunlight.

Her eyes turned to the stage, which was the only area of the bar that was completely lit. Stage lights that sat on the apron pointed towards where for performers would be, and a large, also golden-toned spotlight sat in between two cabinets behind one of the bars. It pointed directly through where a crowd would be and focused directly on the entire stage, swathing it in a glow that she was sure would be the best lighting anyone had ever performed in. 

Before she had any more time to obsess over how amazing it was in there, she heard voices. She turned to the back right corner of the bar, near the bathrooms and two figures emerged from a staircase she hadn’t fully registered. 

“I called Jan and she can come in tonight thankfully, but there’s no way we can get her to do that every time she’s not scheduled- “

“I know, I know, I can’t believe Kandy would quit like that. She promised.” 

“You knew she would get bored with drumming, it was only a matter of time.”

“Yeah, I just really didn’t think she’d quit for some reason.” The two women were looking at each other as they stepped onto the ground, only then noticing Denali standing all alone in the middle of the dance floor, just staring at her. 

“Hello!” one of them said, Denali recognizing her as the first voice. She was a shorter and curvy woman with smooth, black hair, sporting a blue blazer with a matching blue bra and black pants made of the same material, her pumps somehow also a matching blue. 

“And who might you be?” the other asked, Denali pausing to take her in. She was stunning to begin, with curly ginger hair and green eyes that paired perfectly with her skin tone. She was clad in a black turtleneck cropped sweater and a pair of red and green tartan pants with black docs.

It took her a moment to remember that they had asked her a question, and she smiled somewhat nervously, though she quickly wiped apprehension out of her expression. 

“My name’s Denali, and I heard you’re looking for a drummer.” she tried confidently, the two looking rather surprised. 

“Where did you hear that?” the shorter woman asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“You, just now,” she said in a nonchalant tone, having been too nervous at first to register the ginger laughing and giving her a once over. 

“Well, you’re not wrong. Ours just quit on us this morning,” she explained, the curvier woman nodding. 

“I’m Lagoona,” she held out her hand for Denali to shake, which she did, making a small connection in her brain. 

“Lagoona as in Lagoona Bloo?”

“The one and only!” she smiled, Denali unsure of how to feel that she’d found the owner within two minutes of being inside. 

“I’m Rosé.” Lagoona’s counterpart stated, holding out her hand for Denali to shake as well. Her hands were soft. 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you both,” Denali said before she started to babble, as she always did. “Also I’m really sorry I just kinda walked in, I know it’s way too early to be in a bar and I swear I’m not an alcoholic- it’s my first full day in New York and your place caught my eye- it’s so gorgeous by the way like wow- and I walked in and now you’re here and I’m here and my bad,” she said without hardly pausing for breath, Lagoona smiling kindly while Rosé regarded her with an amused expression. 

“Don’t worry about it, I definitely understand the allure.” Ms. Bloo smiled, then getting back to the matter at hand. “So you play drums?” Denali nodded. 

“I do, yes.”

“Are you good?” she followed, Denali carefully choosing how she would answer that question. 

“Yes, and I write music as well so I can put drum tracks on your songs that need them.” Lagoona seemed impressed. 

“Why don’t you go upstairs with Rosé and she’ll see what you’ve got,” she said before further explaining, “it’s where we keep our music equipment when certain performers don’t need it.” 

Denali made an ‘oh’ with her mouth before Rosé beckoned for her to follow, the two going back up the stairs to a cozy attic that had enough room for some acoustic guitars on the walls, spare mics and mic stands, amps, a bass guitar on a stand, and a drum set. As soon as Denali’s eyes locked onto it she practically beelined. It was a really great piece of equipment and she looked at Rosé for permission almost before she sat down behind it, finding sticks and looking back to the ginger girl for instruction. She was plugging the bass guitar into an amp. 

“Whatcha doing?” Denali chirped, Rosé looking over at her. 

“I play bass.”

She plays bass. 

“Cool,” she smiled, watching her fingers carefully tune everything. She adjusted her own equipment to the height she wanted, Rosé plucking a few deep notes before looking back over to the blonde. 

“I hope you’re good,” she mentioned in passing, Denali tilting her head to look at her with a funny smile on her face. 

“Why do you say that?”

“I don’t know, you look cool, and you’re nice- and pretty, which is always a plus,” she smiled and Denali felt her ears get slightly red. Rosé’s smile was gorgeous. 

“Haha,” Denali rolled her eyes, her expression warm. She was willing to bet Rosé was just a naturally flirty person, damn her. 

After everything was set up on both ends, Rosé seemed to think to herself for a moment. 

“I’m going to make up something on the fly, and you’ll add on, yeah?” Denali nodded, readying herself. 

Rosé started to pluck out a few notes, finding a rhythm vaguely resembling something by Michael Jackson but not really. ‘Nali took about two repetitions to have something down, figuring out the time signature and adding an underlying pattern emphasizing beat three. Rosé’s expression changed slightly and she switched it up, playing something new that sounded like it could be part of the same song. Because she was basically a professional (cue the hair flip), Denali was immediately on the mark, the two beginning to groove. 

That was how they did her test run, Rosé making up songs and Denali making them feel like they belonged in the club. When they were finished and packing up, the ginger gave her another appreciative once over as she walked to her. 

“You’re really, really good,” she said earnestly with a gentle touch to her arm, Denali feeling a smile grow on her face. 

“Thanks! So are you, like making rhythms come out of your head is one thing but making rhythms and  notes is completely different and I’m like super impressed, I could never,” she babbled again, out of something almost like nerves, Rosé regarding her with a sort of twinkle in her eye. 

“Thank you,” she laughed, putting her hands in her pockets before adding, “wait until you hear me sing.” She winked at her, turning on her heel and walking down the stairs, Denali following her after a moment, her mind spinning. 

“I suppose that means I’ll get the chance to do so?” the two stopped at the bottom of the stairs, Lagoona bustling about behind the bar as the first guests started to trickle in. 

“Definitely, you’re really great- SHE’S DAMN GOOD,” Rosé said before yelling it across the club towards Lagoona, who merely gave a thumbs up and a weary smile towards the two. Denali giggled, their gazes settling on each other’s. “Can you make it to a rehearsal tomorrow? It’ll probably be me and my friend Jan, she’s the one setting up on stage right now.” Rosé pointed towards said Jan, a woman with wavy, dark brown hair and a lavender purple aesthetic. Denali didn’t even have to mull it over. 

“I’d love to, and thank you so much,” she said excitedly, Rosé smiling again.

“Of course, and thank you for saving our asses. I really was not looking forward to having to scour the city for another drummer that’s as talented as you.” 

Denali felt herself smile again, thinking about how the other woman wasn’t even meaning it as a compliment. She was stating it as a matter of fact, which she was starting to figure was just how Rosé was. 

The club filled up much more quickly than the blonde had anticipated, forgetting that it was a Saturday night in New York City. A large crowd had started to gather, and when Denali turned to Rosé to make a joke about how long they were playing, she found she had disappeared into the sea of gays. She was disappointed, then confused as to why she was disappointed because she’d only just met the girl. Shaking her head, she made her way towards the bar to get herself a drink, trying her best not to bump into people. She was really having a tough time with that part of the new city, apparently. 

When she finally managed to squeeze her way through, there was a sudden hush and Denali looked over towards the stage. Rosé’s friend, Jan, had begun to entertain, just talking to the crowd instead of singing at that point. As laughter started to grow and fill up the space again, she felt a hand on her wrist. She recognized the soft touch immediately and allowed Rosé to pull her behind the bar. The two sat down on a couple of stools available there while Lagoona got drinks out, Denali looking over at the ginger. 

“Am I allowed to be back here?”

“I want you back here. And you’re an employee now, aren’t you?” She folded her arms and leant her elbows against the counter, Denali twisting the butterfly ring around her finger with a fluttery smile. 

She wants me back here. With her. 

“I had almost forgotten,” she laughed, Rosé elbowing her playfully and looking over at her. 

“So, where are you from? You said earlier today was your first day in New York, right?” Denali was almost surprised she had remembered. 

“Yep, I just moved from Chicago. I was going to try and be a professional ice skater, but I decided I just really don’t want to do that so I came here to try and live off of lyric and drum track commissions, but that’s not working out for me so far because the movers lost my whole ass drum set- so now I have to buy a new one which will take months to save up for if I want to afford my rent and food and also furniture.” she thought out loud, the ginger regarding her with a faint grin on her face. 

“I only asked where you moved from, not your whole life story.” she said with a serious expression before she started laughing, Denali giggling along with her. 

“I’m sorry, I know I get side tracked a lot, and  _ speaking _ of life stories,” she dragged out, “you might as well tell me yours so we’re even.” Rosé laughed, nodding. 

“Fair enough- well I was born in Scotland and moved to New York when I was 10, and I’ve been here ever since. I majored in theatre in college, and when I met Lagoona and Jan, the rest was pretty much history.” Denali was impressed, nodding 

“That’s really cool, and also explains the flaming ginger hair.” Rosé fully laughed out loud again, and Denali was sure she would never get tired of it. 

“Oh, fuck you- but you’re also correct.” 

The rest of the night was just the two sipping on drinks, exchanging stories and learning a little bit more about each other (‘a little’ being defined as talking until about 2 a.m.). The club was still thriving, but Denali was getting tired despite feeling energized every second she spoke with Rosé. She also had her first rehearsal the next day, so she had to unfortunately be responsible wrap up her night right about then. 

“Hey- can I get your number so I know when rehearsal starts?” Denali asked bravely, pulling her phone from her pocket. 

“Yeah! Let me get yours too,” Rosé mimicked her, the two exchanging phones quickly. Quickly enough to accidentally graze hands. Denali was lucky her hair was long enough to cover her ears that had turned slightly red again. 

“Thanks! I’ll see you tomorrow,” Denali looked up after they exchanged back, then calling on her way out. She waved as she turned back, almost tripping on her own shoe but managing to still look cool.Rosé waved back at her with a sleepy simper on her face, then turning to Lagoona who was speaking to her as Denali left  _Bloo’s_ for the night. 

—

When Denali got back to her apartment, she went through her normal nightly routine, washing her face, brushing her teeth- things of that sort. She was thinking about everything Rosé had told her, mulling it all over with a serene smile on her face. It was interesting for her to try and decide for herself if the ginger was actually flirting or was just that good naturally. 

As she was crawling into bed, she checked her phone one last time, seeing Rosé’s name in her contacts with a pink heart the ginger had definitely added herself. 

She’d have been lying if she said her stomach didn’t flutter a little. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a little rosé pov ! i hope you enjoy !
> 
> and remember that these are not real people ! ;)

Rosé woke up on Saturday to an email from Kandy. 

Not a typical voice memo of her ranting about something, which slightly disappointed her. She rather enjoyed them. It wasn’t a text, not even a reaction to a text instead of a response. It was an email, which was.. weird. 

Rosé sat up, gently brushing her curls out of her face as she blinked the sleep out of her eyes. She clicked on the email, which was actually quite simple. It read, ‘I quit. x Kandy.’ The ginger went ahead and flopped back down in bed, extending her arms and letting out a laugh. 

“How very formal of her.” 

Rosé, 25 years old, singer, dancer, actress, could not keep a drummer to save her life. Ever since she and her two closest friends had opened one of the hottest gay bars in the entire city, it had been a nonstop occupation for her. She was grateful, definitely, seeing as it kept a steady income for her doing what she loved, but it was extremely annoying to have to find new musicians every few months. She needed to stop hiring her friends. 

The ginger dragged herself out of bed, having woken up surprisingly early for working the previous night- 1 p.m. While she made herself breakfast, she scrolled on her phone, trying to decide the best course of action. Text Lagoona now, or tell her later? Rosé and Kandy were supposed to perform that night, so they needed to call in a replacement. The club also opened in like, seven hours. Rosé groaned and put her head on the table, calling Lagoona and putting her on speaker. 

“Hello?” her friend’s voice rang through. 

“Kandy quit.”

“ _ What? _ ” 

Rosé laughed, lifting her head and shaking it. 

“She sent me an email, and she’s gone.”

“Ughhh, of course she did- wait, she sent you an email? I didn’t even think she knew what your email  _ was _ .”

“Me neither- so what are we gonna do?” 

Lagoona thought for a moment. 

“I’ll figure it out. Come in tonight just in case, you might have to go solo.”

“Gotcha.” 

Lagoona’s voice disappeared from the phone and Rosé gave a heaving sigh, getting up to go shower and get ready for her day. 

She had a few hours before she was going to head in, contemplating how she was supposed to find a new drummer. Kandy had stayed the longest out of all of them, but still ended up quitting. Rosé wasn’t sure what it was that made them keep leaving, but she needed to figure it out soon to save her own skin. Not only was the random switching of performances not great for publicity, but it was a pain in the ass, her own very nice one specifically.

As she got dressed and put on some bare-minimum makeup, she continued to allow herself to let her options flow through her mind. Should she post an announcement? No, that would let the public know officially they were once again short a performer. She could try and get Kandy to come back... no. She wasn’t going to grovel or beg of any kind. Maybe learning drums herself would be good? Rosé stopped what she was doing, breathing out with a smile. A horrible idea. 

She was really stuck. But she wasn’t going to give up, it wasn’t in her blood. Rosé had known struggle, she knew what it meant to work. Thriving in one of the most cutthroat performing industries was no small feat, and she was tough enough to know how to stay afloat. All she had to do was apply that same logic to this situation. She was going to find a drummer, and this time they would stick around. Hopefully. No- definitely. Probably. 

She delayed getting dressed in favor of crawling back in bed, staring up at the creme white ceiling that contrasted the blush pink walls around her. She was going to have to rewrite their set as a solo, and staring at nothing was the best way to work it out in her mind. 

Rosé at 18 would have described herself as ambitious. She had big dreams. Yet, the further she got into adulthood and her mid-20s, the more she realized she needed to be realistic. Of course, she would still like to try and have projects of her own (which she would need a drummer for), but she knew that she needed to focus on her job at hand- entertaining. It’s what she was best at. Making people laugh from either her brief comedy set or accidentally getting herself drunk enough to attempt to put on her shoes backward. Being stupid with Jan and Lagoona on instagram to market the bar. Belting her heart out on stage for people who definitely wouldn’t remember it the next day. It all made her feel good because she, for the most part, remembered it. If she was creating good memories, she was living good. 

At least, that’s what she knew she should think. But, you couldn’t take the New York out of Rosé, and her goals were still ever present in her mind.

After a few hours had transpired and Rosé may (or may not) have fallen asleep again, she rolled back out of bed to get dressed and head to the bar, having no idea what the night ahead of her would be. 

—

When Rosé got to  _ Bloo’s _ , the doors weren’t unlocked, meaning Lagoona hadn’t gotten there yet. She pulled out her keys, humming softly as she unlocked the door and let the familiar blue light envelop her.

She ducked behind the bar where she could put her stuff, putting on some music before she got to work on the task of taking every single drum piece off the stage and up the stairs. Carefully disassembling everything was something she definitely didn’t want to do, but she knew she needed to. She surely wasn’t going to need it tonight. The first thing she did was take up the cymbals and cymbal stands, along with the high-hat. After that was the seat and the stick bag. Then the toms, then the snare, and then the kick drum. Only occasionally did she pause to belt to whatever Miley Cyrus was playing. 

During all this, she was once again left alone to think (as she often was) when she wasn’t focused on singing. What was it that made musicians keep quitting on her? Was she too ambitious, even in what she thought was her calmer state? Was she asking too much? No one had ever really taken to what Rosé asked for with ease, but they also never suggested anything either. Rosé really ran all of the sets she was in as a solo singer, which she was starting to realize was more by choice than because she had to.

Rosé took a deep breath, sighing and then shaking her head to herself. She had to remind herself that psychoanalyzing herself wasn’t very funky nor fresh, so she suppressed her thoughts for the time being. Maybe she should start journaling.

It was a lot of work, having to deal with both equipment and her mind, but she managed. The music shut off, signaling Lagoona’s arrival as she showed up just after Rosé had lifted the heaviest drum all the way up the stairs. 

The raven-haired woman walked up the stairs to see Rosé slumped against the kick bass that she had just set down. 

“Having fun?”

“Tons.” she responded with a tired smile, accepting Lagoona’s hand to help her up. “How have you been?” 

“Probably better than you, even though we’re plagued by the same problem.” her friend smiled at her and Rosé nodded, putting her hands in her pockets as she returned a drained smile. 

“I’ll find someone else, I always do.” Lagoona stood and looked at Rosé for a little too long, the ginger raising an eyebrow at her. 

“It’s not your fault, you know, that they keep quitting. Don’t tell yourself that.” Rosé’s mouth parted to respond before she shut it. 

“I don’t think that.” she said, quickly feigning surprise. Lagoona gave her a pointed look. 

“Girl, I know you. To be honest, none of the drummers you’ve picked are up to parr with what I know you can achieve. They’re great for night clubs, but not what you want. You’ll find a good one, I promise.” Rosé’s mouth upturned at the corners, and she withdrew her hand from her pocket to squeeze Lagoona’s. 

“Thank you, Bloo.” 

“But you better do it fast, cause we have shit to run here.” Lagoona smiled and Rosé laughed, nodding. The two women began to descend the stairs, Lagoona talking about that night’s plans. 

“I called Jan and she can come in tonight thankfully, but there’s no way we can get her to do that every time she’s not scheduled- “

“I know, I know, I can’t believe Kandy would quit like that. She promised.” 

“You knew she would get bored with drumming, it was only a matter of time.”

“Yeah, I just really didn’t think she’d quit for some reason,” Leave it to Lagoona to be extremely caring but also on her ass about her responsibilities. As they stepped onto the floor, they were met with an almost lost-looking woman standing alone on the dance floor. The butterfly clips in her hair and her makeup twinkled under the golden overhead lights. Lagoona had said hello before Rosé added, “and who might you be?” She was eager to find out. 

The girl smiled at the two of them and Rosé practically stared at her dimples as she told them her name. And that she was a drummer. It took Rosé a few moments to register the fact that she drummed. At the time, she was much more interested in studying her face and how gorgeous she was. When it finally hit her, she nearly dropped her jaw in shock. 

“Where did you hear that?” Lagoona was asking, in reference to them needing a drummer. 

“You, just now,” she smiled and Rosé laughed her first genuine laugh in hours. 

“Well, you’re not wrong. Ours just quit on us this morning.” As they all introduced themselves, she was given the opportunity to shake the blonde’s hand, which she found to be very delicate and smooth. 

As she babbled slightly and the two listened to the newcomer, Rosé’s mind swam. If this girl was as good as she presented herself, it meant big for the entire joint. Drummers could either make or break a set and also completely affected the mood of the crowd. Rosé was itching to see what she could do, so she beckoned for Denali to follow her up the stairs.

Rosé stepped onto the platform of the attic and went straight towards her guitar, lifting it off of the stand. She plugged it into the amp, tuning the strings. In the corner of her eye, she watched Denali adjust everything to the correct height that she wanted, focus evident in her expression. 

“Whatcha doing?” the latter asked as she waited for the player to set up.

“I play bass.” Rosé looked over at her, having to force down some kind of dopey smile as Denali deemed it ‘cool.’ She really hoped she was good, which she voiced- only to continue to pull a classic Rosé and say what was on her mind. Which was that she was pretty. The blonde rolled her eyes at her with a fake laugh, though the statement didn’t seem to be lost on her. The ginger smiled before she had to focus on the task at hand, pausing to think. 

“I’m going to make up something on the fly, and you’ll add on, yeah?” Denali nodded, readying herself. As Rosé began to play, she carefully watched the woman opposite her. She looked down towards her drum set, her hands moving slightly without actually playing before she connected the sticks to the drums. The former nearly stopped out of shock that she came up with something that fit what she was playing perfectly. The more they played, the more Rosé switched it up, trying her best to actually trip her up. She seemed unstoppable, and the ginger could feel her earlier anxiety melting away. Denali was by far the best drummer Rosé had ever heard, especially for someone improvising. Hours slipped by without either realizing, and she felt herself actually having fun, which was a first in a while. When they were packing up, Rosé walked over to her. 

“You’re really, really good,” she said earnestly, touching her arm to reiterate her genuineness. Denali’s responding excitement showed her dimples again, and Rosé found herself looking to them again. 

They made casual banter on the way back down the stairs, Rosé deciding she absolutely needed to hire this girl. Casually dropping how good she was to Lagoona (by yelling it across the bar, of course), she guaranteed herself the opportunity to do so. It made Denali giggle, their gazes settling on each other’s. 

“Can you make it to a rehearsal tomorrow? It’ll probably be me and my friend Jan, she’s the one setting up on stage right now.” she found herself asking. Denali responded immediately. 

“I’d love to, and thank you so much,” she said excitedly, Rosé smiling again.

“Of course, and thank you for saving our asses. I really was not looking forward to having to scour the city for another drummer that’s as talented as you.” Rosé dropped what she was thinking again casually, catching herself. She definitely was not this way with people she just met, but then again, maybe she would be if she encountered a lot of people like Denali. 

The club filled up to brim, as it usually did on a Saturday night. Denali had turned away from her, watching Jan, and Rosé heard Lagoona call her name. She immediately made her way over, helping make drinks while they waited for the other bartender to show up.

“Is she really that good?” Lagoona asked her in passing, going towards a bottle of tequila on the back shelf. 

“Absolutely.“ she said back to her, pouring a rum and coke. “Apparently Chicago has some hella quality musicians.” Her friend set down a bottle of beer next to her, handing it across the counter as she smiled knowingly at the ginger. 

“Well I’m glad.”

Once the bartender finally showed up (with a deserved, yet short scolding), Rosé finally had her hands free. She looked around for sparkling butterfly clips, and when she found them, she came out from behind the bar. She grabbed Denali’s hand in almost a rescue effort, guiding her behind the counter so they could sit comfortably and listen. 

“Am I allowed to be back here?” the blonde asked, blinking at her through her long eyelashes. 

“I want you back here. And you’re an employee now, aren’t you?” She said matter-of-factly. Denali smiled, her eyes darting out towards Jan before they went back to Rosé. 

“I had almost forgotten,” she laughed, Rosé elbowing her playfully and looking over at her, beginning their conversation with how she was feeling about the city and where she was from. 

From there, an almost four-hour-long chat transpired. 

Rosé found Denali was extremely witty and charming at the same time. Each of them had a few drinks, and while the blonde was sipping on some kind of cocktail, Rosé swirled the ice cube in her bourbon around.

“Do you really think I’ll like New York that much?” Denali was asking her, the ginger nodding almost immediately. 

“The city is so.. vast. There are so many fast-paced areas but at the same time, if you really wanted to find calm and stillness, you could. It all depends on what you want. Do you want the rapidity or do you want peace?” Rosé was in her thoughtful drunk mood. She had meant for the question to be rhetorical, but her counterpart considered it. 

“I’m not sure. What would you say is better?”

Rosé sipped her drink, shaking her head as she set it back down. 

“It’s hard to say. I don’t.. actually know much about the calmer side. I know that it exists, but I can’t remember the last time I saw it. I like the fast pace, and I think I thrive in it, but you don’t really get a lot of time to focus on yourself. Maybe it’s cause I’m so damn busy all of the time, but,” she shrugged, Denali braiding a tiny section of her hair as she listened, “I’m happy. You’d be happy.”

It would be unwise to neglect that thoughtful Rosé was also honest Rosé. She wasn’t sure if she was trying to console or warn Denali of the life she was stepping into. The blonde stretched up, a tiny bit more of her midriff exposing itself. 

“Well as long as I’m happy, I think it’ll be fun! In Chicago, everything I did was primarily focused on myself, so maybe we’ll like... balance each other out or some shit like that.” she said with a sleepy smile, Rosé considering this and then returning the smile. 

“That’d be cool or some shit like that,” she poked at her with her voice, doing an almost uncanny impression of the blonde’s. Her eyes widened, though they were crinkled at the corners from her smiling through her fake gasp of insult. 

“How dare you make fun of my drunk voice, you literally sound like if the loch ness monster could speak right now.” 

“I don’t know if I should thank you for the compliment or berate you for insulting Nessie like that.”

Denali laughed, like a full blown laugh and she lightly pushed Rosé’s arm with a “shut up, whore!” They were definitely already on that level of familiarity with each other. Rosé stuck her tongue out at her, and once their laughter had died down, the blonde pulled out her phone to check the time. 

“Hey- can I get your number so I know when rehearsal starts?” she asked, both of them knowing it was time to start wrapping up the night. 

“Yeah! Let me get yours too,” the ginger mimicked her, the two exchanging phones quickly. Quickly enough to accidentally graze hands. Rosé bit back a small smile. Once they had returned their phones to the correct owner, Denali moved to head home. 

“Thanks! I’ll see you tomorrow,” Denali called on her way out. Rosé watched her wave and waved back, no longer biting back her smile. She watched her leave before she turned to Lagoona, who was talking to her. 

“ -So that should probably be good for tomorrow. What do you think?” she asked, the ginger simply blinking at her. Lagoona sighed, shaking her head in the same manner as a knowing mom. “You weren’t listening to a thing I was saying, were you?”

Rosé opened her mouth like she was thinking about it before she responded. 

“Nope.” 

Jan made her way over to the two of them, wearing a complete shit-eating grin. 

“Your new drummer is cuuuuute.” she pointed out, Rosé feeling a tiny amount of heat go to her cheeks. 

“She is, yes.”

“And she’s gonna be at rehearsal tomorrow?” Jan pressed on. Rosé nodded, Jan’s smile only growing. “This is gonna be great.”

—

With the time including cleanup, Rosé managed to make it home around 4 a.m., Jan surely no better off than her. Their policy when it came to rehearsal was that, if they performed the night before, or were there for all of cleanup, rehearsal was 12 hours from the time they got home. Of course this was subject to change if they wanted cause they could, but it was the most consistent option. 

Rosé wiped off her makeup, humming softly to herself as she crawled into bed. She grabbed her phone to text Denali that rehearsal would be at 4 the next day, but it took her drunk ass like three minutes to find her contact. When she finally did find it, she clicked on it, seeing that the blonde had put her name in as “‘Nali,” accompanied by a profile picture she had quickly taken of herself that was extremely blurry. She was laughing in the picture, Rosé smiling to herself. That’s why she had shaken her phone slightly. Obviously, the picture was staying. 

After she sent off the text, she flopped back down in her bed, looking back up at her ceiling. She felt strangely like the old Rosé was coming back- the one who wasn’t going day by day, the one who looked to the future. 

In Rosé’s drunken stupor, and perhaps her sober one as well, that future closely involved a certain blonde drummer with dimples. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello my lovelies! i’m so sorry this took so long but we are about to get into the thick of the plot in the next few chapters! i hope you enjoy!
> 
> you know those tik toks of girls playing drums and bass and they’re always hot ???? this is them, i don’t make the rules
> 
> and as always, remember these are characters and not real people ;)

When Denali’s eyes cracked open in the morning, she had forgotten where she was. She was expecting the blue walls of her childhood bedroom and her mom yelling at her to get her butt downstairs, but she was met with bare walls and no voices other than her own thoughts. She sat up slowly, rubbing the sleep from her eyes as everything from the previous day flooded back. 

She had an apartment in New York City, she had a job (so now she could keep her apartment), and her job was drumming professionally. 

Pretty much an ideal start. 

The clock on her side table read about 3 p.m., and when she grabbed her phone, a text from “Rosé💕” was waiting for her. She felt herself smile. 

It read, “rehearsal is gonna be at 4 tomorrow (really today, ugh haha)”, and Denali tossed her hair over her shoulder, her feet hitting the floor as she went to get ready. She sent off something about how she’d be there before she got ready, going through her closet. She decided on dressing casual, going with some grey/blue athletic leggings and a cropped hoodie in grey. She threw her hair into a bun and decided to forgo makeup altogether, rummaging around her kitchen for something to eat. 

She wasn’t hungover, thankfully, so she didn’t have to deal with a pounding headache. She probably could have gone with going to bed at not two in the morning, but sometimes it just happened that way. Denali was a woman with responsibility, and it was rehearsal time, not sleepy time. 

—

At ten til four, she arrived at _Bloo’s_ , her assumption about the natural lighting being correct. The warmth of the wood was cast upon by blue tinted lighting, the beams moving as she opened and closed the glass door. It was stunning. 

There were already two mics, an amp, and a bass guitar set up as she walked in. Jan was on stage adjusting a mic to the correct height for herself, clad in some track shorts and a lavender hoodie, her hair in similar fashion to Denali’s. Half of the drumset was on stage, missing just a few things like the hi-hat and cymbals- probably the stick bag as well. Once the brunette noticed Denali, she waved her over, hopping down to greet her. 

“Hey gorge! Rosé is upstairs getting the rest of the stuff for the drumset- I’ve heard you’re quite the talent.” Jan went ahead and greeted Denali with a hug, and if that didn’t already make her feel like she was welcome, the immediate compliment did. She smiled shyly. 

“I’m sure you heard her scream it across the club last night.” Jan laughed, a twinkle in her eye. 

“Of course I did, doll, but Rosé has also talked of literally nothing else.” 

Before Denali could even fathom a response, the soft crashing of the hi-hat alerted the two of them of the ginger descending the stairs, missing equipment in hand. She was dressed in a white tank top and grey sweatpants, her curls loosely pulled back into a ponytail.

“Hey!” she beamed, the other two moving to help by taking things from her hands. As they passed off equipment, Denali noticed tattoos that littered her arms. As if she wasn’t already attractive enough. “How are you?” she put her hand on her arm again, to which the latter felt her ears redden. 

“Really well,” she said genuinely, Rosé nodding with a small smile. 

“Awesome. I hate to get to business-“

“ -But the business needs attending.” Jan completed her sentence, and Denali could already tell that the two of them functioned this way around each other. Rosé pulled an iPad from her backpack, handing it to the drummer. 

“These are all of the songs on cue for this rehearsal’s set, and if it goes well, we’ll perform tonight. Does that sound good?” Denali thumbed through the music, nodding and then smiling up at the two girls. 

“Sounds great!” she said, and Jan clapped her hands together, somehow already pepped up. As the blonde got herself situated, the two singers exchanged quickly between themselves. 

“Are you warmed up?” Jan was saying. 

“Not in the slightest.”

“ABCs?”

“Sounds good to me.” One could almost hear the grin in Rosé’s voice as she plugged in her bass. The two then began to sing the ABCs in the same pattern as the first five scale degrees, going up and down the scale at lightning speed. Not only did they sing in perfect sync with each other, but they also sounded great- and they were literally just warming up. Rosé was playing the notes as they sang them on her guitar, taking them up a half-step every time they’d completed one set. Denali could do no more than stare at them with her mouth agape. After about ten patterns, she leaned back on her stool. 

“Damn, alright then.” she muttered, the two laughing a bit. The former was already impressed, and they hadn’t even started their set yet. Once everyone was situated fully where they needed to be, they all turned to the first song in their music. It appeared to be a rock-type set, so they were starting strong with Miley Cyrus’s ‘Heart of Glass’. Denali had music displayed across her iPad screen, but as she read through it, she found herself thinking certain parts should be different. She touched the screen, and to her surprise, the note moved. Whatever software they had was on-the-fly editable, which was great, cause she really wanted to make some edits. 

“Let’s say two minutes to look it over?” Jan prompted. Rosé affirmed, but Denali had the ipad in her lap, studying. 

“Do you.. mind if I change this a little bit?” she asked the two of them. The friends looked at each other, Rosé nodding slightly while Jan just shrugged. 

“Go for it, girl.” the brunette gave her approval, and she immediately went through the whole song- making improvements to the flow and also rhythm. When the two minutes were up, the two looked back at the blonde, who was setting the iPad back on her stand. “We’re going to go through every song once with just instruments and add vocals after.”

“It makes it way easier to rehearse efficiently.” Denali nodded, smiling and sitting up taller. 

“On your cue then, Rosie,” the blonde pulled the sticks out of the stick bag, not noticing how the ginger’s fingers slightly fumbled over the strings as she readied herself. She counted them off, Jan humming softly to keep track as Rosé and Denali played. She could tell that the two weren’t expecting the changes to what they were used to, but the flow was undeniably better. She really tried to tune into the bass player’s groove, and it worked really well. 

“Did you write that within those two minutes?” Jan asked after the last chord, and Denali responded with a small ‘yep,’ popping the ‘p’ slightly. Rosé smiled widely at her, turning towards Jan. 

“I told you she was good.” The blonde nearly beamed, scrunching up her shoulders as a cute little thanks. 

“Vocal time then, dolls, let’s get rock and rolling!” Jan said excitedly, giving the drummer a thumbs up. Rosé’s gaze lingered on Denali before she nodded, the two stepping up to the mics. 

Not gonna lie, they sounded really bomb, and they were only just starting. The rest of the rehearsal was them taking each song and picking it apart before putting it all back together again. There were about ten songs in the set and the whole thing would probably take about forty-five minutes (give or take) in performance time, depending of course on the crowd and their vibe. It tickled Denali which songs they seemed to think would appeal to the audience, which was mostly lesbians. ‘Maneater’ by Nelly Furtado would not have crossed her mind, but the more she thought about it, it really was a “fuck men, get money” type song, which she was in to. ‘Cherry bomb’ by Joan Jett also made some type of sense in the weirdest, yet perfect way- and by the time they had gone through the whole set, she was hella pumped up. 

In the hours of rehearsal with a few breaks, Denali felt like she really fit in with the girls already, which was the most amazing feeling. She and Jan could team up on Rosé, who would bite back with something just as scathing- only for all of them to dissolve immediately into raucous laughter. The energy was there, which made for good music. Nearing 6:30, the three stepped away from the equipment and sat across the front of the stage, drinking water and discussing what the plan for the night was.

“We are definitely performing, so what is the idea for getting ready?” Jan asked the two. 

“As far as time goes, we’ll start performing around midnight, so we need to be here by 11:30. As far as the aesthetic,” Rosé paused dramatically, “this is the important part.” Denali snorted, rolling her eyes affectionately. The ginger whipped her head around towards her, raising an eyebrow, though one could see the corner of her mouth curling upwards as she fought back a smile. “Is something funny about this very serious topic, ma’am?”

“Not at all, nope, definitely not,” Denali almost looked away to hide her laughter, but once Jan started giggling, it was all over. Rosé shook her head, though not without a grin. 

“In all seriousness though, are we going rocker, or just all-black, or what?” she asked, Denali shrugging. 

“I’d say rocker, but I don’t really own much dark clothing, so unless you want a pastel pink rocker, I’m at a loss.” she laughed slightly, sipping her water. 

“You and Rosé are def the same size, you should borrow something of hers.” Jan piped up from the other side of her friend, who looked back at her. Denali couldn’t see her face, but she could see the brunette shove Rosé’s leg slightly with her hand. The ginger looked back towards the blonde. 

“You should come get ready at my place, if you want, Jan will be there too-“

“No, gorge, I left my clothes at home and I need to shower and have my moment, you know?” Jan cut her off, blinking innocently at the two while Rose’s ears reddened. 

“Alright diva, the offer still stands, you don’t have to though,” she moved on, undeterred, facing Denali once more. 

“I’d love to, I just need to grab a few things from my apartment- if that’s alright!” the blonde gave Rosé a small smile, to which the latter acted almost as if she was surprised she had accepted. That attitude was quickly replaced by enthusiasm. 

“Totally! I’ll text you my address, it’s not too far from here,” the two came to an agreement, Jan nearly rolling her eyes from exasperation in the background.

“We’re going rocker. I’ll see you guys tonight!” the brunette hopped off the stage, grabbing her stuff and departing. Denali was out after her, and Rosé last, after texting her address to the blonde with slightly fumbling fingers. 

—

As it turned out, Rosé’s apartment building was only a few blocks away from Bloo’s, just in the other direction from Denali’s. The blonde had shoved her makeup, deodorant, perfume, and stuff to do her hair in her bag before making her way over, trusting Rosé to have everything she needed outfit-wise. It was about 7:20 when she knocked on the door. For some reason, she felt nervous, even though she really had no reason to be. She was simply going to get ready for her gig with the most gorgeous woman she had ever laid eyes on who was also flirting with her, potentially. Maybe. No biggie. 

Rosé was at the door not even a minute later, greeting her warmly and pulling her in by her hand before she shut the door behind them. The blonde took a moment to take in everything around her, finding it all to be extremely fitting. The living room and kitchen were all coordinated with grey and white, the walls a soft pink color that was reflected by a neon sign bearing the older woman’s name. Some succulents were littered around the living room, and her bedroom it appeared as she peered in. A faint candle that sat on the coffee table was glowing, smelling faintly like mahogany.

“My bathroom’s this way,” she smiled, Denali following her through her bedroom and into her bathroom that matched the rest of her place. 

“You have a really nice apartment,” Denali commented, joining Rosé in spreading out her makeup across the counter. “It like screams ‘Rosé,’ which I guess it should cause like, you live here, but it’s like... exactly your vibe, if you know what I mean. Do you know what I mean?” The ginger looked over at her, nodding. 

“I do, I think it might be the pink walls.” she paused before they both giggled, some of the tension that Denali was feeling leaving slightly. 

“Very that, now- what the hell am I doing with my makeup here?” Rosé looked at her, reaching out to touch her chin and move her head to catch the light in a different angle. She felt her breath catch in the back of her throat before the ginger retracted her hand. 

“Definitely some kind of smokey eye, how dark you go is up to you,” she said decisively, the blonde taking a moment to nod and get started. Rosé set her phone out and put on some music, which was definitely all rock but nothing in the set they were playing. Denali supposed she liked to get into the right vibe before performances, which she found cute. They chatted as they got ready, also with some singing, though neither of them were trying and purposely chose to sound like cats being run over. 

Rosé chose a blue cut crease that she smoked out towards her temples, with a bright pink underneath her lower lashes. She used a warmer pink blush and her lipstick was only an iridescent gloss. Denali had never seen Rosé in makeup, and watching her doll herself up was kind of fascinating her. For herself, she went with a dark red on Rosé’s eyeing of that color. She meticulously smoked out some liner on her upper and lower lash lines, then applying her favorite highlighter, a pale pink shimmer that glowed on her skin tone. As she finished up the perfect touches, she felt really really pretty, and one could tell from her demeanor. She caught Rosé looking at her through the mirror before she went back to applying her lash. If she hadn’t been wearing so much blush, Denali would have been able to see the natural flush rising. 

The blonde packed up all her makeup and pulled out some stuff to do her hair. She looked over at Rosé, who was lightly fanning the glue on the lash. 

“Rosie, what should I do with my hair?” she poked her arm with the hairbrush, and the ginger hummed slightly, applying the lash. 

“French braids.”

“What about dutch?” Rosé looked over at her, raising an eyebrow. 

“Do you know how?”

“Uh, duh!” she laughed, pulling her hair out of the bun and letting it fall past her shoulders and down her upper back. “Do you not?”

“Definitely not, I’m a mess with my own hair,” the ginger laughed, and Denali set her hairbrush down. 

“I could do it,” the blonde moved behind Rosé, putting her hands on her shoulders. “I’m like, 100% a professional at it.”

The ginger looked at her through the mirror, relaxing her shoulders and smiling after Denali shot some very convincing puppy dog eyes at her. 

“Well then go ahead, you’ve successfully intrigued me.” 

Denali clapped her hands together excitedly, moving to her bag to find some hair ties and other such necessities. She rummaged around Rosé’s drawers for a wide tooth comb, having her sit down on a stool from her kitchen as she did her hair. She put in four french braids, two on the sides and two on top, pulling the rest of her hair into a ponytail at the crown of her head. Rosé was not the easiest client she’d ever dealt with, mostly because she kept making her laugh and lose her focus. 

“I swear to God, if you move your head one more time, I will rip your hair out.”

“Aww, promise?” Denali leaned forward and put her head on the ginger’s shoulder, letting out a ‘frustrated’ scream while Rosé just laughed her fantastic laugh. 

“You’re lucky I’m almost done,” The blonde stood back up, gathering her hair into one last ponytail holder as insurance for her curls. “What do you think?” 

The slightly taller of the two moved her head, teasing her hair with her fingers. 

“It looks so good, ‘Nali.” she beamed up at her and Denali felt her chest swell with pride. 

“Do you think so??” She pushed one more bobby pin in where it had been falling, looking at her hair through the mirror. 

“Absolutely- now hurry up and do your own so I can dress you like a doll.” 

Rosé left the bathroom, presumably getting herself dressed while Denali quickly braided her own hair, turning towards the mirror so she could get the part even. The sound of tiny chains clinking was heard from the ginger’s bedroom, as well as the sound of boots hitting the floor. Once the blonde had finished her own hair, she stepped out of the bathroom, only for her jaw to hit the floor. 

Rosé- where to start. 

She was dressed in a black tank top and black jean shorts that did almost nothing to cover her up, hitting just below the top of her thighs. Ripped fishnets went into at least four-inch tall black platform boots, making her way too much taller than Denali for her own liking. She was putting in neon yellow lightning bolt earrings, a jacket hanging on the door that was an assortment of bright colors. The back of it read “Daddy’s Little Star.” 

It took her like, a solid twenty seconds to regain herself, Rosé smiling at her when she noticed she was standing there. Her arms were flexed from putting in her earrings, and her biceps- were very nice to say the least. 

“You ready, princess?” she smirked down at her and Denali only nodded, holding out her hands for the clothes Rosé placed into them. 

“If I’m not wearing some kind of height booster, I might have a stroke,” she said, giggling slightly as the ginger shooed her into the bathroom. 

“It’s not my fault you’re short to begin with,” she called after her, Denali yelling an indignant, ‘I’m literally half an inch shorter than you, bitch ass’ back through the door. 

The blonde set out the clothes Rosé had given her, getting dressed carefully. The outfit actually fit her quite nicely, and she inspected herself in the mirror. It was a red and black faux-corset type number with a red tartan skirt that just barely graced her mid-thigh. Small chains hung from one hip, and they clinked slightly when she moved. With thigh-high white socks with red stripes, she looked killer. She made a move to put on some dark, cherry red lipstick to match, which really tied it all together. 

As she made her debut, Rosé was sitting on the bed, red pumps in hand, looking at something on her jacket, which she was now wearing. When she looked up, she gasped quietly, her expression quickly shifting to a smile. 

“You look sexy,” she told her, making both of their ears turn red. 

“One of us has to,” she flipped a braid over her shoulder, Rosé flicking her off. 

“Put these on, you rotted cunt,” she stood and got a few more things from her closet, handing them to Denali once she’d toed on the heels. It was a red choker and black lace gloves, both of which the blonde put on immediately. There was a long mirror in Rosé’s bedroom, and as they looked at themselves in it, making last minute finishing touches, the ginger grabbed her phone. “C’mere.” she said, really leaving no room for choice in the matter. She held up her phone to take a mirror pic, Denali moving behind her and wrapping her arms around her waist to smile from behind her shoulder. Rosé held up a middle finger with her free hand, though the blonde did feel her lean back into her arms just slightly. 

She tagged the club, posting it to her story before turning back to Denali. 

“You ready to go rock the house down?”

“Absolutely.” 

—

The two trailed into the club through the back entrance around 11:30. Lagoona was bartending again that night, running around behind the counter as the bar filled itself to the brim. 

“Is it usually this busy on a Sunday?” the blonde asked from behind Rosé, the ginger smiling. 

“It’s this busy every day, today specifically because they want to start the week off right- even if they’ll regret it in the morning.” The blonde nodded, turning her head to look around. Her highlight shimmered in the blue light, and Rosé had to look away before Denali noticed her staring. She instead found Jan, who was done up in her fishnet leotard number with some black thigh-high boots. While the blonde behind her was making small-talk with Lagoona, Rosé made a beeline for her brunette friend, who was raising both eyebrows at her. 

“You really outdid yourself, huh,” she grinned at her, eyeing Denali over her shoulder. Rosé felt her cheeks flush. 

“I didn’t realize how short the skirt would be on her,” she started, but Jan just barked out a laugh. 

“You absolutely did, whore, she actually has an ass, unlike you,” Rosé opened her mouth to bite back, but Jan put her hand on her arm, “you both look stunning. Did she do your hair?” The ginger nodded, Jan only humming and smiling knowingly. 

After setting down her stuff, Denali made her way over to the two. 

“I love this,” she said to Jan, reaching out to run her hand along the texture of the fishnet on the bodice on her arm. Rosé bit the inside of her lip. 

“Thanks! Now, we should go warm up upstairs, get back in the groove, you know?” They both nodded, following her up into the attic where they warmed back up. Rosé allowed herself to ease back into her vocals, miming the chords to her guitar, half joking half serious. Denali was looking at a drum pad, hitting it with her fingertips, though her mind seemed to be elsewhere for the time being. She wasn’t playing anything in the set, as far as Rosé could recognize. After a seemingly short time, they needed to be downstairs, the sound of laughter and semi-drunkenness coming from below. 

As they were walking back down, Rosé heard Denali take a deep breath. She turned back around to her, taking her hand and squeezing it. 

“We’re gonna do great.” she said confidently, the blonde smiling at her. 

“I know.” God, her dimples were cute. 

Once they were on stage and set up, the audience slowly turned towards them, still chatting quietly, but that was to be expected. 

“How’s everyone doing tonight?” Jan yelled into her mic, the crowd yelling back at her. “Awesome! We are super excited for the set tonight, so in true _Bloo’s_ fashion, are you ready to rock?” 

Rosé giggled at the corniness of it, but she cheered along with the crowd. They both turned to Denali to count them off. She smiled at Jan and winked at Rosé before it was one, two, three, four. 

And it was steady going from there. They played a few songs, Rosé talked to the crowd for a few minutes. They played some more, then Jan spoke. It was pretty routine for Rosé, but every once and awhile, she would turn around to look at Denali. She always had this.. sparkle in her eye. A young joy that she exuded. She was really having fun, no nerves in sight, and it rejuvenated the older woman. She remembered feeling like that, and it was amazing to see it again, and start to experience it once more. 

It was a surreal feeling, to perform for a crowd, this crowd specifically. Watching them dance and laugh was super cool, especially for regulars. Every night had a specific set of regulars, and it was awesome to watch some of them fall for each other as the nights went by. Rosé loved to see lesbians in love, even if her own bed had been empty for longer than she would prefer. Her eyes flashed back to Denali briefly before she went back to focusing on her notes. 

A little Miley Cyrus here, some Marina and the Diamonds there, even a bit of Fall Out Boy(‘Uma Thurman’, because they had taste, obviously)- by the time they were finished with their whole set, the crowd had fallen in love with their little band. Raucous applause sounded, and while Jan and Rosé bowed slightly, Rosé looked back at Denali, who was still sitting but smiling as wide as ever. The ginger grabbed the mic, gesturing back towards the blonde. 

“And everyone give it up for our new drummer, Denali!” she said, Jan whistling at her as she stood and waved shyly, laughing at the cheering she received. Rosé felt so genuinely proud of her, her face hurt from smiling. 

It always felt odd to go back into the crowd after having such high adrenaline levels. The spotlight dimmed from the stage and the club was then only lit by the streetlights outside and the oceanic lighting from overhead. It was a really fun vibe, with people barely able to see each other and drinks flowing. The trio dispersed, each talking to someone in the crowd as the Lagoona put a playlist back on over the speakers. Rosé made her way to the bar, where her raven-haired friend smiled warmly at her. 

“You were all fantastic. I haven’t heard a band with that much energy here since we opened.” The ginger smiled, taking a seat on a barstool so she could rest for just a moment. 

“Thank you, ‘Goona, I mean it,” she said gratefully, squeezing her hand.

Rosé lost track of time, and almost immediately after downing a shot of tequila, she felt a hand on her arm. She turned to Denali, who was smiling at her. 

“Come dance with me?” she asked, batting her eyelashes at the ginger. ‘Womanizer’ by Britney Spears had just started playing, and the blonde was practically buzzing with excitement. She had definitely already been on the dance floor for a little while, but one could hardly tell because she had barely broken a sweat. 

“Of course,” she accepted, allowing herself to be tugged onto the dance floor. Jan and Lagoona eyed the two from the bar as they grooved with each other. They immediately had a certain rhythm with each other, and Rosé remembered something she meant to ask earlier, though it did take her a moment through processing Denali’s peach perfume. “What were you playing on the drum pad in warmup?”

Denali smiled small-ly, though there was some worry in the creases of her eyes. 

“I’ve gotten a few commissions for samples of drum set for songs, but they lost my drum set in the move. I was trying to practice since I don’t have anywhere else to, I’m honestly not sure what I’ll do when I have to record- “

Rosé had no hesitance. 

“Use the drum set here.” Denali’s eyes widened. 

“Really?” 

“Of course! You’re welcome anytime- on one condition.” she said mysteriously, raising an eyebrow. The blonde matched her expression. 

“Shoot.”

“You write something for me as well,” the two paused dancing, really close to each other in an effort to hear, obviously. Because the club was super loud, obviously. “Of course I’ll pay you, but that is the hefty condition.”

Denali grinned, hugging Rosé on apparent impulse. 

“Of course I’ll do it, dummy, and you don’t have to pay me.” The ginger pulled back to look at her, noticing her cheeks were slightly flushed. She felt her own cheeks were warm. 

“We’ll have that argument later.” She shook her head. 

“Ok, Roe- but I’ll win.” Denali challenged. 

“You’re on, princess.”


End file.
